


I'm Right Here

by stharridan



Series: Bells and Candy [26]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-31
Updated: 2012-05-31
Packaged: 2017-11-06 09:52:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/417517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stharridan/pseuds/stharridan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lost in the forest, Yachiru endures the bitter cold, waiting for Kenpachi to find her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Right Here

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, on the wet, mushy ground, with her knees drawn to her chest. It felt like a day, or maybe even two, but to her childish estimation it seemed like forever.

It was cold, and she shivered. She could see her breath frost in the air before her like mist. She reached out a hand to touch it, but it swirled away with the sudden blast of wind.

Swallowing a huge lump that had long lodged itself in her throat, she hugged herself tighter and buried her face in her forearms.

Cold, so cold. She felt her breath come out in quick pants, as if she had been running a marathon, straining against her small, fragile lungs. She scooted back a little, until she had no more space and her back was against the hard, rough tree trunk.

It was hard to tell whether there was anyone out there. The dark night sky had long settled on the district, enveloping it in black velvet that shone with only the foggy light of the crescent moon. Clouds came and went, alternating between shielding and revealing that bright, silvery smirk. It made her tremble in fear, mounting upon the cold shivers.

A twig snapped, and she whirled around in the direction of the sound. Her trembling quickly transformed into shaking, and it took all her willpower to stop from whimpering. Long-held tears started welling up in her eyes as she saw a looming shadow, blacker than night, moving through the undergrowth.

As much as she wanted to contain it, a sob escaped her, loud, sharp, shattering the eerie silence. The figure froze in place, and she froze as well, holding her breath with her eyes fixated on it. Was it a hollow? A bandit? A mad murderer? She had no clue, and she didn't want to find out.

Slowly it turned, and in a split second, came tearing through the undergrowth towards her.

She screamed his name, the only word she had any knowledge of.

"Yachiru!"

She screeched, like a wild dog caught in a trap, like there was no tomorrow. She heard him, he was near. If she could just call out to him a little louder, if only she knew how to ask for help, if –

"Yachiru, shut up, it's me!"

And she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder, squeezing it and shaking her. She opened her mouth wide and took a short breath, and was about to scream to the heavens when a hand clamped over it.

" _Shh_ , Yachiru!"

She forced her eyes open and there he was, staring down at her with something akin to relief in his expression. It took a moment for his image to sink into her mind, for her to come to terms with his sudden appearance, but when it finally did and he took his hand away, she flung herself to his chest, bawling.

Despite how much he wanted to yell at her idiocy, Kenpachi let out a sigh instead and patted her head awkwardly. Her tears flowed with a vengeance, and in no time his chest and haori were wet as if he'd just dipped himself in a bucket of water.

"Stupid brat," he muttered, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Don't ye ever run off like that again. One second ye're there and the next thing I know, ye've gone off to shit-gods-know-where."

Yachiru tipped her head back to look up at him at the same time the clouds parted. Moonlight shone on them, and just one glimpse of his familiar grey eyes made her choke and cry even harder.

"Hey now," he rubbed her back, ruffled her hair, "it's all right, brat. I'm right here."

With a sob, Yachiru buried her face in his chest, little hands clutching fistfuls of his haori. His strong arms tightened their hold around her, warming her small frame, and, for the first time since she had left his field of vision to wander the forest, she felt safe.


End file.
